Empire Builder
| Name | Empire Builder |
|---|---|
| Start | Chicago |
| End | Seattle |
| Distance | 2,206 miles |
| Duration | 46 hours |
| Creation | 1929 by the Great Northern Railway |
August 14
All I have to say so far is this was very confusing! Unlike the Lake Shore Limited where Boston and New York met in Albany to form one long train to Chicago, the Empire Builder starts as one long train and eventually splits off with half going to Seattle and half going to Portland. There were so many lines and so many entrances to the train that I have no idea where I will end up! (I am at least taking comfort in the fact that other people on this train say they are going to Seattle, even though the conductor initially thought I was going to North Dakota….) I have a seat, I am by the window, and everything else will work itself out!
I’m not sure that I will see much today. Based on this map of estimated day/night location, it will likely be dark before we reach Minnesota.
Update: I was just kidding!!! Look, it’s a sunset over the Mississippi River between Wisconsin and Minnesota! (And then look at the day/night map because it is also really cool)
The map did not lie: it was dark before we got to Minneapolis and I went to bed shortly after leaving the. (Here’s a rendition of me trying to take a good picture and what I actually took.)
August 15
I woke up in North Dakota to some cows! I slept much better, but I am already starting to feel it in my neck and shoulders. I have a hotel stay after I get off this train, so I am looking forward to that, and I will need to schedule a massage for right when I get off the train in Manhattan! (Actually, now that I think about it, it might be that I carried a heavy backpack around Chicago for a few hours - who knows!)
After my new showering routine, I grabbed my breakfast and espresso and headed to the observation car.
I have to be honest and say that North Dakota blended into Montana so I am not sure if this is the actual split. I remember thinking: “wow, there are a lot of hills/mountains here, I wonder where we are?” and seeing on Google we were well into Montana.
Either way, I spent the day in the observation car observing and also reading my book on Amtrak. (I’ll start a new tab on the main page for some interesting things about that.) So far I have not purchased anything from the Cafe car and have subsisted off of the groceries I brought on board! As I wait to start dinner, we are racing the daylight towards Glacier National Park (Amtrak is not taking it as seriously as I am, unfortunately). The day/night map says we should have daylight right until we get to the park. The path through looks incredible, so I am hoping it is not completely pitch black. I also think we are splitting soon, so the moment of truth as to which destination I am headed towards is approaching…
We did it, we beat the clock! (The day/night map was pretty far off.) We rode right between Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest (though I can’t exactly tell where the border is between the two). The video is a bit long, but the ride was absolutely breathtaking and I couldn’t cut any of it.
After passing through the mountains, we ended up in Whitefish. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the lake by the town, but we were stopped at the station for awhile and it quickly became dark. I’m honestly just so happy to have seen the mountains that anything else at this point is just a bonus. Also, I caved and bought a beer (at a New York price). But, it was absolutely worth it because I got to sit without a mask on for a bit!
Tonight we will pass through the sliver at the top of Idaho into Washington. I will likely be alseep by then, or it will be too dark to see anything, but my unconscious body will have been to Idaho! Apparently we do not split cars until Spokane, so I won’t find out my fate until I wake up and see which direction I’m headed in! (To my mom and everyone else worried about this joke, mostly, I am surrounded by people going to Seattle and I think there is only one Portland coach car. I just think it should be MUCH clearer where the cars are going to be SPLITTING apart.)
August 16
As expected, I did not wake up for Idaho. Instead, I woke up in more National Forests in Washington! The views were immediately beautiful (even without my can of espresso) and they had volunteers on as part of the Trails & Rails program with the National Park Service to talk about the area! I’m not sure where we were when I woke up as we passed through several National Forests, but it was pretty much continuous views of mountains, steams, and waterfalls.
Getting ready this morning I was lucky to get a restroom/dressing room combo (previously I was in a decently sized cubile without a working lock and then a cubicle with a lock but no space to turn around). Based on your trust in the lock, you have room to change and clean completely with plenty of space to keep lay things out.
Luckily I was in the right train as we split off and I was headed towards Seattle! The observation car I spent all of my time in (and was the car directly connected to mine), though, was the breaking point. I think I was actually getting mixed messages about the split because the car was half and half. At any rate, We reached the coast of the Puget Sound and traveled south towards Seattle.
Now I am off of the train at the Kings Street Station waiting for Terri’s train to come in from Portland (and hoping that she took some pictures of her trip up the coast…)
She made it! We successfully met up in the station and had our first Amtrak lunch together.
After lunch we went to check out Chihuli Garden and Glass and the Space Needle.
We are staying overnight in Seattle, so that means REAL showers and ACTUAL beds!!!!
